Quite Quotable

All men are created unequal.

Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

Nerd Props to . . .

Kickstarter is one of those things that can be good or bad, like any tool, depending upon how it’s used.  By bad, all one must do is recall the joker (“Who’s more foolish,” said Obi Wan, “the fool or the fool that follows him?”) who raised oodles of money for potato salad.  Then I think how unfair that is compared to a project by Clear Water Aquarium (home of Winter the Dolphin) which unable to make their goal.   Anyway, I’m sure there’s been lots of good, bad, and ugly, but one thing’s for sure, Kickstarter has been an asset to the nerd community: novels get written, rpgs get published, and films get produced.  For example, Ken Whitman has funded a film based upon the classic Traveller rpg.  Gaming master Monte Cook funded his new rpg masterpiece Numenera.  Living Legend Larry Elmore funded a beautiful tome of his life’s work.  For all the good and bad of it, Kickstarter has opened the door for artists and fans.  Nerd Props Kickstarter! 

Quite Quotable

Education is experience, and the essence of experience is self-reliance.

T.H. White, The Once and Future King

Nerd Props to . . .

Slough Feg

To the Spinward Marches!The Stars Their Destination.Slough Feg (formerly known as The Lord Weird Slough Feg) take their name from a character in 2000 AD’s Slaine series.  The band resides in San Francisco and are currently signed to Metal Blade Records.  If you like your rock speculative fiction-based, this is your band.  Each album draws upon science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mythology –  even history on occasion.  Traveller (2003) is a concept piece based upon the classic rpg and features a character inspired by one frontman Michael Scalzi played as a teen.  The second track on Hardworlder (2007) is based upon Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination; a special Gully Foyle vinyl edition (Foyle being the main character in Bester’s book) was released with the cd.Their newest release, Digital Resistance, continues the trend with a stand-out track entitled Laser Enforcer.  The band’s twin lead guitar sound is a very nice blend of Thin Lizzy’s melodic hard rock and Iron Maiden’s driving riffs.  Check them out at www.sloughfeg.com.   

Quite Quotable

A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof was to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless